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Usnic acid-incorporated alginate and gelatin sponges prepared by freeze-drying for biomedical applications

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Abstract

There is considerable interest in the pharmaceutical and biomedical areas in the use of sponges, produced with biopolymers, as matrices for the controlled release of drugs. The objective of this work was to evaluate the physicochemical characterization of alginate–gelatin (ALG–GEL) sponges containing usnic acid (UA), by thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The macroscopic aspect showed a flexible structure, with variations in coloration depending on the concentration of UA in the sponges. The TG/DTG curves of ALG–GEL sponges and sponges containing 1 and 5 % of UA showed similar profiles and percentages of loss of mass. The DSC curves of both the sponges showed similar profiles, with two events involving a variation of enthalpy being observed, the first an endothermic event and the latter exothermic events, typical of decomposition. These curves show the absence of an endothermic peak of UA at 201 °C, indicating that the drug was present in the polymeric system. The SEM showed the ALG–GEL sponge to have the largest average pore diameter and a more heterogeneous arrangement of polymeric fibers, while sponges incorporated with UA showed more homogeneous arrangement of polymeric fibers. In conclusion, the incorporation of UA did not change the thermal stability of the sponges. Furthermore, the sponges incorporated with the drug showed a microstructural organization suitable for drug release systems.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico/CNPq/Brazil) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Sergipe/FAPITEC-SE for the financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, UFS, São Cristóvão, Brazil

    Aldino do Nascimento Porto Neto, Carla Francisca dos Santos Cruz, Mairim Russo Serafini, Paula dos Passos Menezes, Yasmim Maria Barbosa Gomes de Carvalho, Francilene Amaral Silva & Adriano Antunes de Souza Araújo

  2. Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, UFS, São Cristóvão, Brazil

    Charlene Regina Santos Matos

  3. Departamento de Morfologia, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, UFS, Av. Marechal Rondom, s/n, São Cristóvão, Sergipe, CEP 49100-000, Brazil

    Paula Santos Nunes

  4. Instituto de Tecnologia e Pesquisa-ITP, Universidade Tiradentes, Aracaju, Brazil

    Juliana Cordeiro Cardoso & Ricardo Luiz Cavalcanti de Albuquerque Júnior

  5. Departamento de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, UFPE, Recife, Brazil

    Pedro José Rolim Neto

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  1. Aldino do Nascimento Porto Neto
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Correspondence to Paula Santos Nunes.

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Nascimento Porto Neto, A.d., Santos Cruz, C.F.d., Serafini, M.R. et al. Usnic acid-incorporated alginate and gelatin sponges prepared by freeze-drying for biomedical applications. J Therm Anal Calorim 127, 1707–1713 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-016-5760-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-016-5760-8

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